Ys, also spelled Is or Ker-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French (ker means city in Breton), is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean. Quimper ( Breton: Kemper, Latin: Corspotium) is a commune and capital of the Finistère department in The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A mythological place (also called "mythical place" is a place that a particular culture describes in their Mythology and Folklore as existent Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into Most versions of the legend place the city in the Douarnenez Bay. Douarnenez, (douar (land an enez (the island or land of the island is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern
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The legend
Origins
According to some versions of the legend, Ys was built below sea level by Gradlon (Gralon in Breton), King of Cornouaille, upon the request of his daughter Dahut (also called Ahès), who loved the sea. Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface Born in around 460 Gradlon the Great ( Gradlon Meur) was a legendary "king" of Cornouaille present in many legends who lived in the fifth century The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany Cornouaille is an historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. Dahut (or Dahud also called Ahes, was a magician and a princess of Cornouaille ( Brittany) present in several Breton legends
In others, Ys was founded more than 2000 years before Gradlon's reign in a then-dry location off the current coast of the Bay of Douarnenez but the sea level had slowly risen to the point where Ys was under it at high tide when Gradlon's reign began.
To protect Ys from further inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. LeveeEmbankmentDitch A dike (or dyke) levee, levée, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial The one key that opened the gate was held by the king.
Fall
Ys was the most beautiful and impressive city in the world, but quickly became a city of sin under the influence of Dahut. She organized orgies and had the habit of killing her lovers when morning broke. Saint Winwaloe decried the corruption of Ys and warned of God's wrath and punishment but was ignored by Dahut and the populace. Saint Winwaloe (in French Saint Guénolé or Guennolé; Latin Winwallus or Winwaloeus (d
One day, a knight dressed in red came to Ys. Dahut asked him to come with her and one night, he agreed. A storm broke out in the middle of the night, one could hear the waves smashing against the gate and the bronze walls. Dahut said to the knight: "Let the storm rage, the gates of the city are strong and it is King Gradlon, my father, who owns the only key, attached to his neck". He replied: "Your father the king sleeps, you can now easily take his key. " Dahut stole the key from her father and gave it to the knight, who was none other than the devil. The devil, or, in another version of the story, Dahut herself, then opened the gate.
Because the gate was open during storm and at high tide, a wave as high as a mountain collapsed on Ys. King Gradlon and his daughter climbed on Morvarc'h, his magical horse. Saint Winwaloe approached them and told Gradlon: "Push back the demon sitting behind you!" Gradlon initially refused, but he finally gave in and pushed his daughter into the sea. The sea swallowed Dahut who became a mermaid or morgen. Morgens, Morgans or Mari-Morgans are Welsh and Breton Water sprites that drown men
Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, which became his new capital. An equestrian statue of Gradlon was made and it is still today between the spires of the Cathedral of Saint Corentin in Quimper. It is said that the bells of the churches of Ys can still be heard in the sea calm. A legend says that when Paris will be swallowed, the city of Ys will rise up from under the waves: Pa vo beuzet Paris, Ec'h adsavo Ker Is (Par-Is meaning, in Breton, "similar to Ys" ). Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
This history is also sometimes viewed as the victory of Christianity (Gradlon was converted by Saint Winwaloe) over druidism (Dahut and most inhabitants of Ys were worshippers of Celtic gods). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies Celtic mythology is the Mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the Religion of the Iron Age Celts Like other Iron Age However, a Breton folktale asserts that Gradlon met, spoke with and consoled the last Druid in Brittany, and oversaw his pagan burial, before building a chapel in his sacred grove. A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into
Later use of the legend
The legend of Ys was confined to the folk of Brittany until 1839, when T. Hersart de la Villemarqué published a collection of popular songs collected from oral tradition, the Barzaz Breizh. Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Théodore Claude Henri vicomte Hersart de la Villemarqué (1815-1895 French Philologist and man of letters was born in Quimperlé, on 6 July 1815 Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges Barzaz Breiz ("The Ballads of Brittany" Barz is the equivalent of "bard" and Breiz means "Brittany" is a collection of Breton popular The collection achieved a wide distribution and brought Breton folk culture into European awareness. One of the oldest of the collected songs was this tale. The medieval poet Marie de France also wrote poetry and stories based around the Ys legend. Marie de France ("Mary of France" was a Poet evidently born in France and living in England during the late 12th century
Literature
- Alain Deschamps and Claude Auclair are the authors of a comic based on the legend of Ys, called Bran Ruz (red crow). Comics (via Latin from the Greek "" kōmikos, of or pertaining to "comedy" from kōmos "revel"
- Author Robert W. Chambers set the short story "The Demoiselle d'Ys" (from his fantasy collection The King in Yellow, 1895) in medieval/contemporary Brittany. Robert William Chambers ( May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American Artist and Writer. The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories written by Robert W
- Poul Anderson and his wife Karen wrote a tetralogy of novels, The King of Ys, set in Ys, in the 1980s. Poul William Anderson ( November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American Science fiction author who wrote during a Golden Karen Kruse Anderson (kruːzi born 1932 is the widow and sometime co-author of Poul Anderson, and mother-in-law of writer Greg Bear. Poul William Anderson ( November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American Science fiction author who wrote during a Golden The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Prior to that series, fantasy writer A. Merritt in his novel Creep, Shadow! drew from the Ys legend. Abraham Merritt ( January 20, 1884 &ndash August 21, 1943) who published under the byline A
- Jack Vance sited Ys as one of the cities in the kingdom of South Ulfland in his Lyonesse Trilogy. John Holbrook Vance (born August 28, 1916 in San Francisco, The Lyonesse Trilogy is a group of three Fantasy novels by Jack Vance, set in the European Dark Ages in the mythical Elder Isles west of France and southwest of Britain
- Dutch-born writer Iman Wilkens claims, in his book Where Troy Once Stood, that the Trojan War and other events in Homer's epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey took place in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; he claims the city of Ismarus, sacked by Odysseus' men after leaving Troy, was in fact Ys. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Where Troy Once Stood is a book by Iman Wilkens that argues that the city of Troy was located in England and that the Trojan War was fought between groups In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. Ismara ( Ancient Greek:) also Ismaros or Ismarus was an ancient Ciconian town on the Aegean coast of Thrace and supposedly grc-Latn Odysseus or la Ulysses ( Greek grc-Latn Odysseus; Latin: la Ulixes or more commonly Ulysses) oʊˈdɪsiəs Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or Wilkens' suggestions have not attracted the attention of mainstream scholars.
- A. S. Byatt's novel Possession: A Romance, which won the Booker Prize in 1990, makes frequent reference to Breton myth and legend, including the story of Ys. Dame Antonia Susan Duffy DBE (born Antonia Susan Drabble 24 August 1936 Sheffield, England) is a Postmodern Novelist The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length Novel Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)
Painting
- E. V. Luminais' painting scored a success at the Salon of 1884, on May 7, 1888, Édouard Lalo's opera Le roi d'Ys, based on this legend, premiered in Paris. Évariste Vital Luminais ( October 13 1822 - 1896 was a French painter. The Salon (Salon or rarely Paris Salon (French Salon de Paris) beginning in 1725 was the official Art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo ( 27 January 1823 &ndash 22 April 1892) was a French Composer of Spanish descent Le Roi d'Ys ( The King of Ys) is an Opera in three acts and five Tableaux by the French composer Edouard Lalo, to the Libretto
Music
- In Claude Debussy's first book of Preludes (published 1910), the evocative La Cathédrale engloutie recalls the drowned cathedral in the city of Ys, with the muffled and watery sonority of its spectral bells. Achille-Claude Debussy (aʃil klod dəbysi (August 22 1862 &ndash March 25 1918 was a French Composer. Claude Debussy 's Préludes are two sets of pieces for solo Piano. Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting
- The French composer Édouard Lalo wrote the opera Le roi d'Ys, which was based on the Breton legend of Ys. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo ( 27 January 1823 &ndash 22 April 1892) was a French Composer of Spanish descent Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Le Roi d'Ys ( The King of Ys) is an Opera in three acts and five Tableaux by the French composer Edouard Lalo, to the Libretto
- Breton harpist Alan Stivell recorded an instrumental track called "Ys" on his 1972 album Renaissance de la Harpe Celtique. Alan Stivell (born Alan Cochevelou January 6, 1944) is a French musician whose father came from the small town of Gourin, Brittany
- Harpist/folk-singer Joanna Newsom released an album in 2006 called Ys. Joanna Newsom (born January 18 1982 is an American Harpist, Pianist, Harpsichordist, and Singer-songwriter from Nevada Ys (ˈiːs is the second Album by Joanna Newsom. It was released by Drag City on November 14, 2006 (see 2006 [1]
- Progressive rock band Il Balletto di Bronzo also has a concept album called Ys. Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Il Balletto di Bronzo (translation The Ballet of Bronze was an Italian Progressive rock band from Naples. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical"
- The heavy metal band Bal-Sagoth has included Ys in many of its stories/songs. Bal-Sagoth are a Symphonic black metal band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 1993
Video and board games
- The Japanese video game company Falcom created a video game series also named Ys in 1987, and it has become very popular in both Japan and the United States. is a Japanese Computer game company The company was founded in March of 1981 by Masayuki Kato. (English ˈiːs is a Japanese computer and Console role-playing game series and Nihon Falcom corporation's flagship franchise
- The American video game company Bungie Studios included a subtle reference Ys in their Myth series; the "Drowned Kingdom of Yer-Ks" is visible at the far northeastern corner of the world map. Bungie is an American Video game developer founded in May 1991 under the name Myth is a series of Real-time tactics (not to be confused with Real-time strategy) Computer games The games are Myth The Fallen [2]
- The American board game company Rio Grande Games has published Ys--a board game based on the legend. Rio Grande Games is a Board game publisher based in Rio Rancho New Mexico.
Notes and references
Externals links
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